


Monster Match #15: Mimic

by TheTravelerWrites



Series: Tumblr Monster Matches [14]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Exophilia, Genderfluid, Mimic, Other, Reader Insert, Reader-Insert, Slime, male reader - Freeform, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-06-26 04:32:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19760656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTravelerWrites/pseuds/TheTravelerWrites
Summary: For @severedreamerbeard: I don't really think I need to tell you what my pronouns and orientation are, so we'll skip over that. As far as a short description goes, I'm thin as a twig, and decently tall. I'm not that great with social interactions, I can't hold a conversation and I get tongue-tied frequently when speaking, which isn't fun at all. My hobbies are all pretty dorky, being playing D&D, reading fanfics, and playing video games for most of my free time. As far as likes in dislikes in partner, it's pretty much all in the personality. Humor and doing goofy things are top notch, along with being a general sweetheart. If I'm honest, I'm not sure if I have any specific dislikes that come to mind, mostly from an utter lack of experience in the dating field. And as far as sfw/nsfw, that's your choice, I don't really mind.





	Monster Match #15: Mimic

You loved old video games. You’d go to your local game store to scour for old games people had forgotten. You didn’t know why, but they instilled a certain sense of innate nostalgia in you, even though you hadn’t played most of them, since some had come out before you’d even been born.

“Hey, man,” The clerk, Tucker, called out. “You won’t believe what someone just sold me.”

“What?” You asked, coming to the counter with your items.

“A copy of ‘Red Knight’s War,’” Tucker said, ringing you up.

“You’re _kidding_ me!” You exclaimed. “I thought most of them were destroyed. Wasn’t there some kind of urban legend that it was haunted or something?”

“Yeah,” Tucker said. “People really bought into the hype, too. I think there are only, like, fifty left in existence.”

“Dude, I have to have that. How much?”

Tucker pursed his lips and thought about it. “How about a hundred bucks?”

“You’re off your nut if you think I’m paying that,” You scoffed. “I’ll give you ten bucks.”

“Please, I could get an easy two hundred off eBay,” Tucker said.

“Well, then, sell it on eBay,” You told him. “I’m sure you’ll have plenty of bidders for an obscure game that most people aren’t even aware exist and the ones that do think it’s haunted.”

“Dude, that just makes it tastier!” Tucker insisted. “Fifty bucks, and I’m being kind with that offer.”

“Thirty. Seriously, it’s a coin toss as to whether you’d actually find someone online who wants this, whereas I have cash now. There’s something to be said for instant gratification.”

“Forty. That’s as low as I’m gonna go, man,” Tucker said, folding his arms.

You blew out your breath. “Fine, fine, I’ll take it. You’re lucky I respect you as a business man.”

“Pfft,” Tucker snickered. “Yeah, whatever. Here.”

He handed you the clear cartridge that had been completely sealed with scotch tape.

“Whoa,” You said.

“Yeah,” Tucker replied with a strange look. “The guy that sold it happily took five bucks for it. He was super weird.”

“Eh, aren’t we all. Thanks, Tuck,” You said as you took your purchases and made your way to the door.

“See you later, man. If it does end up haunted, you have to tell me.”

You waved as if to say _sure, sure_ , and headed home.

When you got back to your apartment, you immediately got out a box cutter and slit open the cellotape that encased the game disk. _Red Knight’s War_ was one of the first MMORPGs, but it got overshadowed by _World of Warcraft_ and _Runescape_. When it came out, you’d just started first grade, so you weren’t exactly a wiz on the computer. You don’t even think your parents had a computer back then.

You checked the disk, which was in pristine condition, then booted up your computer. Putting the disk into the slot, you heard the whirring sound as it started up. There was the title screen, the loading screen, which gave way to the character customization screen. You spent a a good chunk of time making your character look as close to you as possible, even though the rough early 2000’s graphics made it difficult.

Then, into the actual gameplay. It was a typical dungeon trawler, nothing surprising. You played a little for a while when a message popped up on the onscreen chat box.

> _Who are you?_ ”

Odd. You hadn’t switched on the multi-player option yet. Maybe the game was multi-player by default. You typed in your first name and asked them theirs.

> _Tarna,_ The replied. That was a strange name. Maybe it was their screenname, although the screenname in the chat box seemed to be random numbers and letters. > _It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen someone here._

> _I’m not surprised,_ you said. > _Everyone thinks this game is haunted._

> _It’s not,_ Tarna said. > _Humans are just superstitious, apparently._

> _Are you in-game?_ You asked. > _I only see NPCs._

> _I’m a mimic. I’m in the corner over there._

You looked, and you did see a treasure chest standing on two spindly legs, its long arms swaying as if bored. As your character walked up to it, it waved. But it seemed to be waving at you, not your character. 

> _Wanna team up?_ You typed into the chat.

> _Yes! I’m so happy to have someone else to play with again!_

Their enthusiasm was both endearing and a little sad. You wondered if this had been their favorite game, if they’d waited all this time for someone else to come online to play with. That must have been lonely.

> _Let’s go, buddy!_ You typed.

For the next few weeks, you played _Red Knight’s War_ with Tarna every evening after work. They were always online, and always happy to see you. Sometimes, you wouldn’t even actually play the game, you’d just talk to each other in the chat. There was still a lot about them that you didn’t know. They didn’t divulge a lot of personal information, and you could respect that. You were just a stranger on the internet, after all.

One day, though, you came online ready to slay some liches, but you were met with a message already in the chat box.

> _Can we talk?_

This was already unusual, because they waited for you to speak first before starting gameplay, but the nature of the question had you a little uneasy.

> _Of course. What’s up?_

> _I feel like I should come clean._

You frowned. > _Come clean about what?_

> _I haven’t lied to you exactly, but I haven’t told you everything about me. I’m worried that if you knew the truth about me, it would scare you off._

> _There’s not a lot you could say that would scare me._

> _You say that now,_ They said. > _The fact of the matter is, there’s a reason people think this game is haunted._

> _Which is?_

> _Honestly, it’s easier if I show you._

> _Show me how?_

> _Take the disk out of the computer and put it on the ground._

You scoffed to yourself. > _Are you serious?_

> _Trust me. Just don’t freak out, okay?_

> _Okay…_

You shut down the game and ejected it. It lay there in the disk tray. You felt a little silly, but you took the disk and lay it, image down, on the floor and waited.

Suddenly, it seemed to melt into some sort of grey goo. The goo began to grow and warp and rise up, and you fell backward into your chair with a yelp.

“Wait, you said you wouldn’t freak out!” The grey goo said. It started to take on human form. It solidified into the form of… you, right down to the work vest you’d failed to remove when you got home. It put out its arms to placate you. “I’m not going to hurt you. Calm down, please.”

You were still sitting in your gaming chair, gripping the armrests and panting in fear. “What the hell are you?”

“I’m a mimic,” The copy of you said.

“Mimics are treasure chests in dungeons! Not game disks or… or me!”

It sighed. “Treasure chests are the most common form we take, historically, because we were hired to protect people’s vaults and and hordes. We were decoys to distract looters from the real treasure, but we don’t have an actual physical form other than amorphous blobs. In our original state, we’re just… slime.”

“How did you even know what I look like?” You asked.

They pointed. “Your webcam. You really ought to cover it when you’re not using it.”

You head fell into your hands and you massaged your forehead. “So…” You said slowly, trying to wrap your mind around what was happening. “Why were you a game disk? How did you even function?”

“Mimics can take on the form of anything they touch down to a microscopic level. When I took on the form of the game disk, I copied the tiny grooves and divots that made up the game’s information. That’s why I could run on your computer.”

“But _why_ where you a game disk?”

She sighed. “When money changed from gold and jewels to paper kept in large banks, mimics no longer had jobs. Most people had negative misconceptions about us, so we were driven underground. Some took on human forms, but that was risky since in the modern times, everything is electronic and number based. Getting fake ID’s and social security numbers were difficult because, even though we guarded money, we had none of our own. We kept to the shadows, but it was a pretty lonely existence.

“One of us had managed to integrate into society and was working as a game developer in the early 2000’s and had the idea for some of us to become game disks as a method of interacting with other people in a safe way. I guess it backfired…” The copy of me sighed. “A lot of us were destroyed and the ones that weren’t were either locked away or kept as oddities. After talking with you…” They looked down. “I was hoping we could be friends.”

“I… you… look, can you change into something else? Talking to… myself… feels a little weird.”

“Oh, sure,” They said, and began to shift and morph. When they finished, they were a woman slightly shorter than you with dark skin, brown hair, and brown eyes. They were wearing a sapphire blue business-type dress, close fitted and knee length with matching heels.

“Wait, are you male or female?” You asked them.

“Mimics don’t have a gender in our original form, but we can become any gender we choose.” Their voice had changed, too; it was musical sounding.

“Is Tarna your real name?”

“Yes,” They replied. “I’ve never lied to you, just… omitted some important facts about myself.”

You rubbed the back of your neck. “I can get that, I guess. If I had your history, I’d be cautious too.” You squinted up at them. “Why did you decide to reveal yourself? That was a hell of a risk.”

They shifted a little, uncomfortable. “Honestly… I… I’ve started to… develop feelings for you.”

Stunned, you sat up straight and your arms rested on your knees with your hands dangling between your legs. “Feelings?”

“Oh, I don’t expect you to reciprocate,” She said hurriedly. “But you seemed like the kind of person who would accept me, and I wanted to be your friend. Not just in the game, but in real life. I apologize if that’s not something you want, but… it’s hard to keep your feelings in and never tell someone the truth, you know?”

“Yeah, I totally get that,” You said quietly. You stood up. “You really have feelings for me?”

They fidgeted. “Yeah.” They avoided your eye. “Sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” You asked. “You can’t help who you like.”

They looked up hopefully. “I can be anything you like. I can be a man or a woman, I can have any color hair and eyes, I can be tall or short, anything you want, I can be that.”

You held up a hand to stop them. “Don’t worry about me. What do you want to be?”

They looked down at themselves, and then back up at you. “I rather like this form.”

“Then be this form,” You said, smiling. “Who is that, by the way?”

“It’s an amalgamation of different people, actually.”

“So it’s unique to you, then?”

The grinned slowly. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

You smiled too and held out your hand. “Nice to meet you, Tarna.”

They laughed shyly and took your hand gingerly. “Nice to meet you, too.”

You took Tarna on a real date that night. They were shy out in public around other humans, even while wearing a human guise, but they were so happy to be spending time with you outside of the game. You learned that they only needed to eat when they took on a form that needed to eat, like humans or animals. You asked them a ton of questions, and they were happy to answer every one, grateful that you weren’t afraid.

At the end of the date, you said, “We should find the others.”

“What?” They said.

“The other mimics trapped as games. We should find them and free them.”

A smile formed on their face, but they said, “That might be difficult.”

“That never stopped me. You in?”

A wide smile split their face. “Absolutely.


End file.
